Resuming their overnight partnership of 16, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc added 22 more runs on a morning slightly delayed by brief showers, with Carey reaching his half-century in the process.
Jasprit Bumrah struck first, dismissing Starc with an edge behind to claim his sixth wicket of the innings. Mohammed Siraj then ended Nathan Lyon’s 30-ball resistance, either side of a rain interruption, before Akash Deep had Carey caught for a well-made 70, bringing Australia’s innings to a close at 445.
In reply, India faced just 7.2 overs before rain forced an early Lunch, but the brief period was enough for Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to wreak havoc with the new ball.
Starc, fresh from his match-winning performance in Adelaide, conceded a cover drive to Yashasvi Jaiswal on his first delivery but struck back immediately, having the youngster caught at short midwicket on the very next ball.
Starc continued his fiery spell, finding Shubman Gill’s thick outside edge in his next over, with Mitchell Marsh pulling off a stunning catch to his left at gully. Hazlewood compounded India’s woes, dismissing Virat Kohli with a delivery in the channel that nicked behind, leaving India in deep trouble as the players went off before Rishabh Pant could take guard.
Once play resumed, progress remained disjointed due to two further rain interruptions, allowing only two and four overs in brief windows. A final short seven-ball session ahead of Tea brought more misery for India as Rishabh Pant, showing early promise, feathered an edge to Pat Cummins off a delivery angling away, leaving the visitors reeling at 44/4.
He was Chilling and Suddenly Remembered his Score pic.twitter.com/feetLlz3oU
— 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙭𝙨 (@lofteddrive__) December 17, 2024
In the fading light, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma walked out for a final three-over spell, during which only spin bowlers were permitted due to poor visibility. Rahul added to his growing confidence, finishing unbeaten on 33, as India ended the day still trailing by nearly 400 runs with plenty of work to do.